The Missing Kagome
by sesshomaru's dokkaso
Summary: One shot follow up story to Sesshomaru's Dilemma. Rin loses Kagome and Lord Sesshomaru must find her. Rin and Sess. fluff, no romance.


-1**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of his lovely companions. They are the creations of Rumiko Takahashi. **

A/N: This was written as a birthday present for my awesome beta and friend Winterzforgotten aka Cierah, who encouraged me to post it, so I hope you enjoy. It is linked to "Sesshomaru's Dilemma," but hopefully still enjoyable if you haven't read it.

**The Missing Kagome**

Sesshomaru wanted to groan. Actually he wanted to growl, rip out that annoying toad's throat and wait a day or two before using Tenseiga on him, but he would not give in to such base desires. A small body curled closer to him and a tiny hand tightened its grip on his haori as though sensing his unease and wanting to comfort him. He cracked an eye and glanced over at Ah Un who was also awake and looking with both heads in the direction that Sesshomaru had heard the disturbance. Jaken was returning.

This afternoon had been one of the most pleasant he could recall. Jaken had been gone for most of it. Rin danced with flowers, groomed him then curled up to take a much needed nap with him. Not that he actually slept; it would do no good for anyone to know this- pastime of his. He had thought he heard a strange clicking sound as Rin had played with his hair, but unable to sense or smell a thing, he dismissed it. Perhaps he had become a bit paranoid over the years, though with good reason. Anytime he managed to find something he truly enjoyed, someone always managed to find out and ruin it for him. It had finally become a simple matter of practicality to never enjoy anything, to never show any emotion at all.

He glanced down at Rin, loath to disturb her. Somehow his claws found their way to her slightly tangled hair and began to stroke it softly. He stopped himself, blinked, then with the faintest sigh continued the gentle ministrations. Despite all his efforts, this girl was getting to him, and if he really thought about it, he didn't mind at all.

Jaken managed to fall down somewhere in the woods and his angry muttering easily found its way to Sesshomaru's sensitive ears. The demon lord gave Rin's head one last stroke before he adjusted his arm so he could stand without disturbing her. He carried her quickly over to Ah Un, who was now standing, having anticipated its master's actions. He gave Ah Un a sharp nod of approval and laid Rin on its back, making sure she would not fall off.

When Jaken emerged squawking and complaining as usual, they had already nearly left the clearing.

"L-lo-lord Sesshomaruuuu! Please wait for your most humble servant, m'lord!"

Sesshomaru did not acknowledge his vassal, but did slow his pace by a fraction to allow the toad to catch up. Jaken continued to chatter on about what exactly Sesshomaru would never know seeing as how 1) he had not been paying attention, and 2) he didn't care. It had to be a measure of just how much Rin had effected him that Jaken had not been killed more times than he had already.

Rin ended up sleeping through the night, so Sesshomaru continued without making camp. She finally woke up a couple hours after dawn.

"Good morning, Ah. Good morning, Un. I see we are already on the road today. Thank you for carrying me." She greeted the dragon with her usual unwavering cheerfulness.

The dragon growled softly in response and bobbed each of its heads. Rin jumped from their back and gave each head some attention, then began to hum and run around in circles behind Sesshomaru. However after a moment, her humming halted and her random circles became more systematic and focused around Ah Un. Curious about her silence and unusual behavior, Sesshomaru peeked at her from the corner of his eye.

Rin was busily going through the saddle bags and her own little bag the miko had given her. She bit her lower lip and her little brow was furrowed. Her scent carried the unpleasant taint of fear and worry. He continued forward but kept his senses trained on her to see what else she would do. Presently, he smelled the salt of tears in the air. Something was definitely wrong.

Concerned by this out-of-character behavior for his ward, Sesshomaru turned and said, "Something troubles you, Rin."

She jumped and wiped her face before she turned to him and shook her head, forcing a weak smile onto her face. Sesshomaru made no response as he turned and continued on as though nothing had happened. His face was a blank mask, but his thoughts swirled in confusion. She was trying to hide something from him, and for the first time since she had recovered her voice, she refused to speak.

Clearly he would not be getting any answers directly from her. He tilted his head so he could glimpse the toad plodding faithfully along behind him while casting curious stares in Rin's direction. Apparently even Jaken had noticed Rin's behavior.

"Wait here," Sesshomaru told them suddenly and sprang up into the air, vanishing into the trees before either of them could protest or question him. Propelling himself from a tree limb, Sesshomaru found a well-hidden place within his own hearing distance and settled against the rough bark to await the conversation between his ward and his vassal.

"See what you did, you foolish human!" Jaken squawked only a moment later. "You have angered Lord Sesshomaru by not answering him and now he has left us all behind."

To Sesshomaru's surprise, Rin did not snap back at the toad in her own defense. Instead the smell of tears increased and she cried out, "Oh Master Jaken, Lord Sesshomaru will be much more angry with me once he finds out..."

Her voice trailed off into muffled sobs likely from burying her face in her arms.

"What do you mean, Rin? What have you done?" Jaken asked in a noticeably softer tone. Sesshomaru smirked. Jaken did seem to like Rin despite his complaints.

"I- I- Kagome is missing!" she cried out finally. Sesshomaru started. His brother's wench was missing? How was this Rin's fault? And how had she even known?

"Lord Sesshomaru gave her to me as a gift and now I've lost her. He is going to be angry with me when he finds out how I treated his gift," Rin sobbed. "Please, Master Jaken, you must help me find her before Lord Sesshomaru finds out!"

He could hear the rattling of the toad's head and knew Rin must be shaking him as she pleaded.

"So she cannot find that doll?" Sesshomaru mused softly. He thought back to the last time he had seen her with the doll. Right before she began to play with his hair, she had laid it beside him.

Sesshomaru blinked. He had forgotten the doll at their last camp. Rin had been sleeping so unable to retrieve her belongings, therefore it was his responsibility to make sure they had left nothing behind. No, her things were none of his concern. If she wished to have playthings, then she would need to be responsible for them. He, Lord of the Western Lands, was no nursemaid for a human child.

An odd pain twisted in his chest, almost like a set of claws slowly squeezing his heart. He listened to Rin's sobbing pleas and it only intensified the mysterious feeling. Somehow that last course of reasoning did not satisfy him. Did he feel guilty at causing Rin this pain?

Ridiculous. What did human tears mean to him? They were merely a sign of how weak and pathetic humans were. So why did he not feel disgust towards Rin? Why did he have this awful pain instead? Rin was weak, utterly defenseless and at his mercy. So why could he not think of her as pathetic?

Sesshomaru pondered these questions until he arrived at their last camp. He blinked down at the place where he had been sitting and frowned. In all his internal thoughts, he had not even realized where he was going. Well, since he was already here, no sense in not retrieving "Kagome."

His frown deepened. The doll was gone. He could smell the stench of lesser youkai in the area and narrowed his eyes at the clear trail. Such filth had dared take what belonged to one of his group? His scent would clearly identify the item as his and should have warned any that stumbled upon it not to touch. This youkai would regret ignoring his scent.

Instantly, he was after it. Unfortunately, he soon smelled the youkai's blood and the very irritating scent of his hanyou brother. Would that whelp ever just stay out of his business? The doll was not to be found among the demon's remains, but he did find traces of the miko's scent and assumed that she had found and recovered the doll. He flicked his whip at the demon's lifeless head, splitting it in half. This did nothing to ease his agitation and only made him even angrier at his brother for taking his kill.

He turned and began to stalk in the direction of Inuyasha's scent. Not because of the doll, he told himself, but because they were heading in the direction of where he had left his group. They must have been going slowly, though, because Sesshomaru soon drew close enough to hear their voices.

Apparently his brother and the miko were having an argument.

"Why'd you pick up that damn thing? It's got _his_ scent all over it! And the scent of that little girl," Inuyasha shouted at her. Sesshomaru grimaced at the uncouth language and assumed "that damn thing" was the doll.

He could almost see the miko rolling her eyes. "I know that, Inuyasha. That's why I picked it up. Rin will be missing her doll soon, so we should return it to her as soon as possible."

"You think my brother won't go hunt that doll down the moment the little brat finds out it's gone? She's got him wrapped around her little finger," Inuyasha argued. Sesshomaru growled softly at that remark. "It was bad enough I happened to kill the thing that stole the doll in the first place. Then you had to go and take it. Now he'll be tracking us down and be extra pissed cause it was me who killed his prey."

Sesshomaru had to confess he was a little surprised at how well Inuyasha had predicted his actions. Either the hanyou was starting to develop some intelligence, or Rin really did have him wrapped around her little finger. He was beginning to suspect it might be a little of both. Not that he would ever actually admit that, though.

"Come on, Inuyasha, he would be happy that we're bringing it back to him. Saves him the trouble of hunting it down," the miko argued back.

Inuyasha snorted and said, "Keh. Like he'd appreciate help from a human like you. Well, if you want to take it back to him, then go ahead. But it'll be your guts he rips out, not mine. It was your idea to take the stupid thing."

"Hmph!" the miko scoffed, but apparently began to reconsider in light of Inuyasha's arguments.

_Good_, Sesshomaru thought. _She is still afraid of me._

"Maybe we should just leave it somewhere we know he or Rin will find it," she said, more to herself than anyone in particular. The other humans had wisely decided to remain out of this quarrel.

"Keh, you would have done that if you'd just left the thing with that demon," Inuyasha told her. Then he fell silent for a moment. "And his scent and that little girl's are not that far from here. Just toss it; they'll find the thing soon. I don't think my brother is with them, so he's probably already hunting. As much as I'd love to kill the bastard, we need to focus on finding shards before Naraku does, so we probably shouldn't start anything just yet."

Sesshomaru could almost hear the confused blinks of the humans at Inuyasha's odd statement. He almost could not believe it himself. The hanyou was actually trying to avoid a fight?

The miko let out an exaggerated sigh and finally gave in. "Fine, I'll leave it here. Your brother had better come and get it, though. I don't want poor Rin to have to go without her doll."

Sesshomaru waited until they had gone on before moving to where the miko had left the doll. He might have been downwind, but why take unnecessary chances? He almost wanted to smile when he saw "Kagome." The doll was balanced atop a large pile of stones and a strip of bright red cloth trailed in the breeze. She had definitely made sure even Rin could have found it.

He lifted the doll, careful not to snag the silk with his claws, and headed back to his group. They were busy scanning the area. Even Ah Un was helping as it nosed through bushes, and Jaken lifted up ridiculously small stones as though he thought the doll could be hidden beneath one.

A sudden impulse struck Sesshomaru, and he crept around to the bush Rin was searching. He quickly laid "Kagome" in the next place she would look and shrank back to avoid detection. Why he had the urge to do this, he could not say. Nor did he understand the strange excitement he felt as he thought of Rin's smile upon discovering the doll. Why would her smile make him happy? Why did making her happy please him?

Sesshomaru winced at her shrill shriek of happiness when she finally found it. He waited a short while then made his presence known. Jaken rushed to offer his welcomes and Rin chirped brightly, "Good afternoon, my lord!"

"Your mood has improved, Rin," he said, keeping his face blank, though inside he smiled. Her happiness was contagious.

Rin hugged the doll tight and replied, "Yes, my lord. I'm very happy."

Sesshomaru said nothing, but went and sank down with his back against a tree, signaling that they would be staying there for a while. He watched as Rin cared for her doll like an infant, inwardly basking in the joy that radiated from her with a near tangible strength. The doll made her happy, so there was no doubt that "Kagome" could not go missing again.

Later that evening, Jaken was snoring softly and Sesshomaru sat gazing up at the sliver of moon, so similar to the mark upon his own brow. It was so serene and constant. It waxed and waned and was never swayed by the troubles that ailed the world. The other constant in his life busied herself by painting in the odd book the miko had given her all the while chatting with "Kagome" about what she thought the strange beings in the pictures were doing. He could not help but watch her with carefully veiled interest.

Several pages later, Rin's head had begun to drop, then jerk upright suddenly as she fought sleep. Unable to hold back a broad yawn, Rin finally decided that it was time for her and "Kagome" to go to bed. Carefully, she stored her colors and book in her bag, then she and her doll curled up next to Ah Un's warm side. The dragon shifted to allow her a more comfortable position and went right on sleeping. Sesshomaru returned his gaze to the sky, lost in his own thoughts, but still alert for anything foolish enough to think it could challenge him.

Sesshomaru was still awake early the next morning when Rin woke up. The little girl giggled at Jaken's loud snores, yawned, stretched, then pulled something from her bag and began to eat. The smell was strangely similar to the candy the miko had given him when he was--not himself.

Presently, he sensed Rin edging closer, waiting for him to acknowledge her. Turning his eyes to hers, Sesshomaru signaled that he was now listening. Rin smiled and extended a small object towards him. It was round and had a think stick protruding from one end, similar to the one that stuck out from her own mouth.

"Would you like one, Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked around the candy.

She pushed it up under his nose and added, "It's really good."

Sesshomaru was about to say no, but when he saw the hope in her eyes, he felt that pain again. Instead he opened his mouth to say yes, but the hard, round thing was shoved inside. It knocked against his fangs and overloaded his mouth with a tangy fruit flavor. His mouth immediately began to water and he clamped his lips shut to keep from drooling on himself.

Rin took this as a sign of acceptance. She smiled broadly at him and skipped back over to her bag. Sesshomaru quickly swallowed his syrupy saliva and jerked the object from his mouth. Unwilling to cause her sadness, he eyed the object and warily stuck it back in his mouth. He glanced back at the tiny child and desperately hoped that this thing would quickly be gone.

When Jaken awoke, he opened his mouth as if about to question the strange object Sesshomaru had, but at a look from said demon lord, he wisely bit his tongue and followed as Sesshomaru began their march for the day. Once their sweet knobs had finally dwindled down to nothing, Rin came over and stuck her tongue out at him. It was an odd green color.

"Let me see yours, my lord," she demanded eagerly. Horrified, Sesshomaru realized his mouth was likely stained as well. He halted, ignoring the small, green toad that bounced off the back of his legs, and stuck out his tongue, trying to see it himself.

Rin clapped with delight and squealed, "Yours is purple, my lord!"

"This is not permanent, is it?" he asked her.

A very bad feeling twisted in the pit of his stomach, when Rin merely giggled and skipped back to her bag in response. She returned to his side a short while later with two of the pages from her book clutched protectively against her chest.

Sesshomaru did not stop or even look down to acknowledge her. She would speak when she was ready.

"You impudent human child! Don't you see my lord is too busy to hear your whining!" Jaken ranted immediately.

"Jaken," Sesshomaru intoned sternly.

The toad changed his tone and stammered, "Y-y-yes, m'lord?"

Sesshomaru said nothing further, but the silence was enough to still Jaken's tongue.

A moment later, Rin finally asked, "Lord Sesshomaru, may we go find Kagome so I can give her these pictures?"

Sesshomaru did not stop walking but he glanced down at the odd paper she clutched tightly.

"It was our agreed upon payment for the supplies she gave me," Rin explained.

Sesshomaru wondered why he had adjusted their course towards his half-breed brother after that request. Did Rin really control him that much? No, he decided, he merely had some pent up aggravation over Inuyasha's killing his prey the day before and the hanyou needed a beating. Or at least maybe he would get to see him sat by the miko again, an equally pleasant option.

The demon was surprised that he was in sight of the motley pack before Inuyasha began to bristle and hurl insults at him. The others tensed, but did not draw their weapons right away.

"Why are you here, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha demanded as he waved his sword.

Sesshomaru outright ignored him and walked past at the same slow pace. Rin skipped along beside him while Jaken halted to lecture Inuyasha on how his master could go where ever he pleased. He stopped directly in front of Kagome who smiled broadly up at him with her hands behind her back and asked politely, "Can I help you, Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru said nothing, but nudged the now shy child forward with his fur. Kagome knelt in front of the girl and smiled.

Rin grinned back and said, "I have brought you the pictures I promised."

Kagome took the pictures and giggled at Rin's green tongue. "Wow, these are wonderful, Rin. The next time I return home, I'll have to bring some more supplies. I can't wait to see more of your work."

The little girl blushed at the compliment. About that time, Inuyasha bounded over and snapped, "Hey, Sesshomaru, what the hell are you doing here?"

Sesshomaru gave his brother a disdainful look then said, "It is none of your concern, half-breed. This is an affair between Rin and the miko."

Instead of ranting or letting out a string of foul words like Sesshomaru expected, Inuyasha fell silent, just staring at him with his mouth open slightly.

"It's okay, Inuyasha, I just needed to give Kagome the pictures I promised her," Rin explained, coming to stand beside her lord.

Inuyasha just looked down at the smiling girl, then back up Sesshomaru, then back at the little girl again. A broad smile broke out on his face and his ears twitched in amusement. Sesshomaru was at a loss as to what had struck the hanyou as so funny, but he did not let his confusion show on his face. He glanced at the miko who had just followed Inuyasha's example, but had the decency to hide her smile behind her hand.

Inuyasha's smile grew wider and he said, "Purple's a good color on you, Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru realized instantly that his tongue must still be stained that from that candy, but felt a smile twitch his own lips for a moment as the words, "Sit boy!" filled the air and his little brother hit the dirt.

Satisfied, Sesshomaru took his hand off Tokijin's hilt, turned and began to walk back in the direction he had come from. Behind him Rin shouted, "Bye, Kagome!"

Jaken led Ah Un and fell into step behind his master as well. Kagome called after them, "Bye, Rin. Take care. Bye, Sesshomaru, and thank you for bringing her."

Sesshomaru had nearly disappeared over the hill by the time the subduing spell wore off.

"SESSHOMARU! I KNOW WHAT YOU WERE EA-"

"SIT, BOY!"

Another crash and string of curses reached his ears, and Sesshomaru allowed a slight smile to curve his lips again. Rin skipped alongside him, "Kagome" in her arms once again.

"Inuyasha is funny, Lord Sesshomaru," she said. "He sure falls down a lot around Kagome."

Sesshomaru stared ahead, still smiling faintly. "Indeed."

Another thought struck Sesshomaru, and he stuck his tongue out, trying to see it for himself. A pang of worry twisted his gut yet again as he thought, _This is not permanent, is it?_

End


End file.
